More evidence has emerged that the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/washington-post">Washington Post&#8217;s</a> newsroom can&#8217;t take a joke after lightning rod reporter <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taylor-lorenz">Taylor Lorenz</a> took offense at a Father&#8217;s Day COVID quip by a fellow left-wing journalist.
Matthew Yglesias, co-founder of Vox and an influential liberal pundit, tried to crack wise on Twitter after learning he had contracted COVID-19. But Lorenz, like former colleague <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wapo-suspension-of-weigel-and-firing-of-sonmez-highlights-the-tawdry-manners-of-elite-media">Felicia Sonmez</a>, who was fired after blasting a colleague and the paper over a mildly sexist joke, didn&#8217;t think it was funny.
&#8220;Some personal news: I have contracted the novel coronavirus,&#8221; Yglesias tweeted Sunday. &#8220;Frankly, I think the virus should respect Father’s Day more than this.&#8221; He then went on to quip that &#8220;FYI, all future typos are due to long Covid.&#8221;
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Wash Post still working out the struggle I guess. <a href="https://t.co/DIDtZKnrrf">pic.twitter.com/DIDtZKnrrf</a>
&mdash; Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) <a href="https://twitter.com/redsteeze/status/1538610939217424384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Lorenz, who was recently dropped from the newspaper&#8217;s vaunted features team after an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wapos-taylor-lorenz-removed-from-features-staff-after-false-claims-in-story-report">embarrassing screwup</a> in a story on content creators and the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial, wasn&#8217;t laughing or expressing concern for Yglesias&#8217; health.
&#8220;I’m glad it’s a joke for u Matt and that you’re lucky enough to get access to great care, but for those who have had their lives destroyed by the virus and who have had loved ones die from or suffer w/ LC it’s not funny. Hope you can have a little more empathy, especially today,&#8221; she tweeted.
Earlier this month, the newsroom was rocked by another attempt at humor. Star reporter David Weigel retweeted a joke that offended Sonmez, who publicly called out the newspaper.
“Every girl is bi. You just have to figure out if it’s polar or sexual,” was the joke that prompted Sonmez to question on Twitter why the newspaper would employ someone who would share such a joke. Sonmez then continued to complain about her colleagues when some defended Weigel, who had immediately apologized.
The newspaper <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/washington-post-reporter-suspended-without-pay-after-coworker-criticizes-him-for-retweeting-a-joke">suspended Weigel</a> for a month without pay but <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/washington-post-fires-reporter-who-trashed-paper-colleague-over-retweeted-joke">then fired Sonmez</a> when she refused to stop publicly complaining.
On Friday, &#8220;Real Time&#8221; host Bill Maher said the Washington Post&#8217;s newsroom was like a &#8220;daycare center&#8221; full of spoiled and entitled scolds. And that was before Lorenz objected publicly to Yglesias&#8217;s tweet. Maher invoked the Post’s storied past, including breaking the Watergate story nearly 50 years ago. &#8220;Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were focused on getting stories, not finding offense in their colleagues’ behavior,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bill-maher-calls-modern-newsrooms-daycare-centers-after-wapos-bye-felicia-saga">he said</a>.
“If someone named Deep Throat called the paper today and wanted to meet in a parking garage, this crew of emotional hemophiliacs would have an anxiety attack and report it to HR that they didn’t feel safe,” Maher said.

Taylor Lorenz

Taylor Lorenz Rips Fellow Lib’s COVID Quip, Showing Again No One At WaPo Can Take A Joke

Washington Post Reporter Taylor Lorenz Calls Out Fellow Journalist For COVID Quip

COVID-19

Washington Post

The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) reportedly believes that the coronavirus pandemic originated from a leak in a Chinese laboratory back in late 2019.
The Mail, a British newspaper, <a href="https://www.mailplus.co.uk/edition/news/coronavirus/193248/who-boss-secretly-blames-china-lab-for-covid-leak">reported</a> that Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus &#8220;privately believes the Covid pandemic started following a leak from a Chinese laboratory,&#8221; according to a top government official. &#8220;While publicly the group maintains that ‘all hypotheses remain on the table’ about the origins of Covid, the source said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), had recently confided to a senior European politician that the most likely explanation was a catastrophic accident at a laboratory in Wuhan, where infections first spread in late 2019.&#8221;
Tedros recently told member nations that the WHO does “not yet have the answers as to where it came from or how it entered the human population” and that it was “morally” important to determine its origin. Tedros said countries, including China, needed to share data and that the WHO needed “transparency and without interference from any government.”
A WHO spokesperson said: &#8220;Dr. Tedros has been consistently saying that all hypothesis remain on the table as scientists pursue their work.&#8221;
The coronavirus pandemic, which has caused trillions of dollars in damage to the global economy and killed an <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/health-61327778">estimated</a> 15 million people, broke out sometime in late 2019. However, an exact timeline of events has never been established due to China resisting international pressure for an investigation inside the country.
Three researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology — China’s only Biosafety level-4 laboratory — were hospitalized in November 2019 with symptoms consistent with COVID-19, according to a previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence report that was released last year.
“The details of the reporting go beyond a State Department fact sheet, issued during the final days of the Trump administration, which said that several researchers at the lab, a center for the study of coronaviruses and other pathogens, became sick in autumn 2019 ‘with symptoms consistent with both Covid-19 and common seasonal illness,&#8217;” The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/intelligence-on-sick-staff-at-wuhan-lab-fuels-debate-on-covid-19-origin-11621796228">reported</a>. “November 2019 is roughly when many epidemiologists and virologists believe SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the pandemic, first began circulating around the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where Beijing says that the first confirmed case was a man who fell ill on Dec. 8, 2019.”
A panel of experts told a congressional subcommittee last year that they believed that the pandemic originated from a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/experts-tell-u-s-lawmakers-its-highly-likely-covid-19-originated-in-wuhan-lab">reported</a> at the time:
<blockquote>All four of the experts — which included Dr. David Asher, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, Dr. Richard Muller, emeritus professor of physics at the University of California Berkeley and Dr. Steven Quay, founder of Atossa Therapeutics — answered “yes” when asked if the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 started in Wuhan lab.</blockquote>
As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-report-leaked-docs-prove-china-underreported-pandemic-numbers-hid-previously-unreported-number">reported</a>, U.S. officials have indicated that they believe that China <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-u-s-intelligence-tells-trump-that-china-intentionally-lied-about-coronavirus-outbreak-report-says">“intentionally”</a> underreported their true numbers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-official-gives-fox-news-stunning-estimate-on-chinas-real-coronavius-numbers">“by at least a factor of 50.”</a> British officials reportedly told Prime Minister Boris Johnson early in the pandemic that China could have underreported their numbers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/british-scientific-advisers-claim-chinas-outbreak-could-be-15-to-40-times-worse-than-reported-report-says">“by a factor of 15 to 40 times.”</a> The Washington Post reported in April 2020 that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/washington-post-evidence-coming-out-of-wuhan-suggests-real-death-toll-over-40000">“evidence”</a> coming out of Wuhan suggested that the real death count was over 40,000, which comes as China still claims that it only has a little over 4,600 deaths total nationwide. A conservative estimate in April 2020 from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI)—which gave China every benefit of the doubt when coming up with their calculations, and then some—suggested that China severely and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aei-releases-conservative-estimate-of-chinas-true-outbreak-numbers-its-staggering">“deliberately”</a> underreported their numbers and that China’s true numbers at the time had to be at least 2.9 million infections with well over 100,000 deaths.

SWITZERLAND-CHINA-WHO-HEALTH-EPIDEMIC-VIRUS

World Health Organization Head Now ‘Privately’ Blames Chinese Lab For Coronavirus Pandemic: Report

World Health Organization Head Now ‘Privately’ Blames Chinese Lab For COVID Pandemic: Report

China

Pandemic

World Health Organization

On Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, announced that he has tested positive for COVID.
Fauci, age 81, is fully vaccinated and twice-boosted. He also serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
&#8220;Dr. Fauci will isolate and continue to work from his home,&#8221; the National Institute for Health <a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/niaid-director-fauci-tests-positive-covid-19">said</a> in a press release. &#8220;He has not recently been in close contact with President Biden or other senior government officials. Dr. Fauci will follow the COVID-19 guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and medical advice from his physician and return to the NIH when he tests negative.&#8221;
Fauci has previously defended the COVID vaccine&#8217;s efficacy against critics who wonder how some folks can get infected with the virus and require hospitalization despite being vaccinated.
Recently, Fauci was interviewed on a podcast hosted by CBS&#8217; Major Garrett, who was forced to record the discussion from his home due after testing positive for COVID even though he was double-vaxxed and boosted, Eat This, Not That <a href="https://www.eatthis.com/news-dr-fauci-just-issued-this-important-covid-update/">reported</a>.
&#8220;This is a highly transmissible virus, and it is very likely that if you were not vaccinated and double boosted, that you would&#8217;ve had a much more severe outcome than you have right now,&#8221; Fauci told Garrett. &#8220;And you and I very unlikely would be speaking to each other right now.&#8221;
In April, Fauci <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-dont-want-to-pooh-pooh-getting-infected-fauci-is-says-americans-should-consider-precautions">criticized</a> those who believed getting infected was not something to worry about.
&#8220;We don’t want to pooh-pooh getting infected. I think people sometimes say, ‘Well, it’s OK to get infected.’ No, it’s not,” Fauci told ABC&#8217;s Jonathan Karl at the time. Fauci also relayed that while people should be able to assess their own risk level, they should not consider getting infected to be an acceptable risk because of the potential for long COVID or for significant illness.
“They may be at home, they may require a doctor consultation, but they don’t get hospitalized,” Fauci said. “That’s not something to pooh-pooh.”
In early June, CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-19-vaccine-booster-shot-infection-rate/">reported</a> that &#8220;federal data suggests the rate of breakthrough COVID infections in April was worse in boosted Americans compared to unboosted Americans — though rates of deaths and hospitalizations remained the lowest among the boosted.&#8221; But, CBS noted that that does not necessarily &#8220;mean booster shots are somehow increasing the risk.&#8221;
John Moore, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College, told CBS News that &#8220;one of the dynamics here is that people feel, after vaccination and boosting, that they&#8217;re more protected than they actually are, so they increase their risks.&#8221;
&#8220;That, I think, is the major driver of these statistics,&#8221; Moore explained.
For his part, Fauci is experiencing mild symptoms with his first case of COVID.
This is a developing story; please check back for updates.

Screen Shot 2022-04-15 at 9.41.44 AM

Fauci, 81, Tests Positive For COVID And Is Experiencing Symptoms

Dr. Anthony Fauci, 81, Tests Positive For COVID And Is Experiencing Symptoms 

Anthony Fauci

Biden Administration

CBS News

COVID-19 Vaccine

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra has once again tested positive for COVID-19, just 25 days since he last announced he had the virus, according to a news release from the department.
The release said Becerra, who last tested positive on May 18 while traveling in Europe, was experiencing mild symptoms.
“This morning in Sacramento, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra tested positive for COVID-19 after taking an antigen test,” the release said. “He is fully vaccinated and boosted, and is experiencing mild symptoms. He will continue to perform his duties, working in isolation.&#8221;
The news follows the announcement that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has contracted the virus for the second time. &#8220;I’ve tested positive for COVID-19. I’ll be following public health guidelines and isolating. I feel okay, but that’s because I got my shots. So, if you haven’t, get vaccinated &#8211; and if you can, get boosted. Let’s protect our healthcare system, each other, and ourselves,&#8221; Trudeau tweeted on Monday.
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I’ve tested positive for COVID-19. I’ll be following public health guidelines and isolating. I feel okay, but that’s because I got my shots. So, if you haven’t, get vaccinated &#8211; and if you can, get boosted. Let’s protect our healthcare system, each other, and ourselves.
&mdash; Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1536365897358745600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Trudeau&#8217;s announcement came just days after he met with President Joe Biden and several foreign leaders at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.
&#8220;Trudeau met with several other U.S. officials during the trip, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), as well as the leaders of Argentina, Jamaica, Barbados and the Dominican Republic. Chilean President Gabriel Boric met with Trudeau in Ottawa on June 6,&#8221; The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/06/13/canada-trudeau-covid-biden-summit-americas/">said</a>. The paper then added, &#8220;White House spokesman Kevin Munoz said Biden is not a close contact of Trudeau as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.&#8221; The announcements came as COVID cases are back up and the World Health Organization (WHO) issued new warnings.
The COVID-19 pandemic is “most certainly not over,” WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned late last month, <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/05/1118752">according</a> to U.N. News.
The WHO head said, “We lower our guard at our peril.”
“So, is COVID-19 over? No, it’s most certainly not over. I know that’s not the message you want to hear, and it’s definitely not the message I want to deliver,” he said.
Ghebreyesus told officials gathered in Geneva for the opening of the WHO’s annual meeting that declining testing and sequencing means “we are blinding ourselves to the evolution of the virus.” In addition, he said that while billions are vaccinated against the virus, nearly one billion people in lower-income countries still are not.
While some 60% of the world’s population is vaccinated, he said, “it’s not over anywhere until it’s over everywhere.”
Ghebreyesus mentioned, “reported cases are increasing in almost 70 countries in all regions,” the UN reported.
“ … And this in a world in which testing rates have plummeted,” the WHO head added.
He noted that the virus is spreading rapidly in Africa, where the vaccination rate is the lowest worldwide. And he said that while there appears to be ample supply of the vaccine, there is “insufficient political commitment to roll out vaccines” in some countries, while there remain gaps in “operational or financial capacity” in other nations.
“In all, we see vaccine hesitancy driven by misinformation and disinformation,” Ghebreyesus said. “The pandemic will not magically disappear. But we can end it. We have the knowledge. We have the tools. Science has given us the upper hand,” he said, calling on countries to work together to reach 70% of vaccination coverage.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as a White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

New year 2022 written in 3D with Coronavirus omicron variant instead of zero.

U.S. Health Secretary Contracts COVID-19 For Second Time In 25 Days

U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra Contracts COVID-19 For Second Time In 25 Days

Xavier Becerra

In December 2021, at the World Health Assembly (WHA), the World Health Organization (WHO) announced their intention to <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/01-12-2021-world-health-assembly-agrees-to-launch-process-to-develop-historic-global-accord-on-pandemic-prevention-preparedness-and-response">initiate a draft of a new pandemic treaty</a> “to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.” The goal of this draft was to lessen the likelihood of the world suffering through another years-long pandemic with devastating global health, social, and financial impact.
Then, in May 2022, the 75th WHA meeting <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/22/wha-who-pandemic-treaty">was met with deep reservations</a> about the rumored scope of the pandemic treaty, including concerns that nations would be forced to surrender their sovereign rights to govern to the WHO. Some speculated whether the WHA could establish global vaccine <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/will-the-who-use-monkeypox-to-push-vaccine-passports-and-global-surveillance_4484123.html">passports</a> and have the power to unilaterally impose national lockdowns and/or restrictions on international travel. And when <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/who-chief-seeks-central-role-un-agency-global-health-2022-05-23/">Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said</a> the WHO should be “at the center of global health security architecture,” he further fueled critics of the proposal. 
The meeting concluded without any such treaty being drafted, let alone imposed on member nations. This is just the start of the process, which is now in the hands of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB). The proposed pandemic treaty is not set to be ratified until 2024, at which point it would need to be ratified by the United States Senate for it to take effect in the U.S.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, <a href="https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA75/A75_18-en.pdf">the U.S. has proposed amendments</a> to the WHO’s International Health Regulations (IHR). Crossing international borders, these amendments would place mandates on member nations requiring reporting and accountability for emerging infections. One key feature was a requirement of robust surveillance for new pathogens and including notifying WHO of all details (including genetic sequence data) within 48 hours of a possible public health emergency. (A response to the alleged Chinese cover up of the existence of the SARS-CoV-II virus.) The amendments would also require WHO members to immediately investigate any possible emergency and report the findings to all member nations. 
The proposed amendments also clarified that these rules apply to “potential or actual public health emergencies of international concern,” and would delegate power to the Director-General to make that preliminary determination upon consultation with the State Parties involved in the “public health emergency,” before bringing it before the newly established “Emergency Committee” to approve temporary recommendations.
The amendments also proposed that the WHO Director-General should consult with international agencies in order to “avoid unnecessary interference with international travel and trade,” particularly when it comes to healthcare workers and supplies. This would assign to six WHO Regional Directors the power to handle regional health emergencies and establish a Global Compliance Committee to ensure compliance with IHR directives and reduce adoption time for amendments to six months.
As proposed, the U.S. amendments to the IHR would significantly expand the WHO Director-General’s power to declare a global health emergency by removing the requirement of approval of the member nation of origin. However, <a href="https://www.ejiltalk.org/the-far-reaching-us-proposals-to-amend-the-international-health-regulations-at-the-upcoming-75th-world-health-assembly-a-call-for-attention/">as some have pointed out</a>, the proposed amendments do not address the fact that current WHO policies permit the automatic declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in the event of a new SARS outbreak, automatically inspiring additional lockdowns and other potentially harmful countermeasures before assessing the threat of the new respiratory virus. Moreover, the U.S. Senate would not have to ratify these amendments as it would in the case of a new treaty, as it would merely be the decision of the U.S. representative on the INB on whether or not to vote for the amendments. This has generated concerns about legislative oversight into impactful policy changes.
On May 24, 2022, at the WHA meeting, the WHO <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/24-05-2022-daily-update---24-may-2022">formally renamed the working group in charge of these amendments </a>as the Working Group on IHR Amendments (WGIHR). The WGIHR is tasked with proposing “a package of targeted amendments” to be presented for consideration at the 77th World Health Assembly meeting in 2024. 
On May 27, 2022, largely in response to reservations <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/africa-objects-us-push-reform-health-rules-who-assembly-2022-05-24/">expressed by the African group</a> around equity and technological gaps, <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/countries-deal-global-health-rules-who-us-world-health-assembly/amp/">the WHA nearly scrapped the proposed amendments</a> altogether. The WHA did, however, adopt a U.S. proposal for reduction in the implementation time for new amendments from 24 months to 12 months, and allowed countries ten, rather than nine, months to reject an amendment.
Because of this, for the time being, there have been no substantive changes to WHO policies, nor has the WHO’s power been broadened. So should we still be concerned? Yes. 
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an erosion of trust in the WHO over ineffective (and often harmful) management, in addition to their unwillingness to thoroughly investigate the origins of COVID-19, seemingly giving in to Chinese resistance.
For the WHO to have the authority to enact any new policies with broad global implications that reach far beyond just health, the agency must rebuild that trust.
It can start by establishing full transparency, admitting its many mistakes, and basing policies only on the mountains of clinical and epidemiological evidence created during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can also restrain itself from broadening its powers beyond public health. As Sarosh Nagar <a href="https://hir.harvard.edu/title-healthy-cooperation-in-a-multipolar-world-the-fate-of-the-new-international-pandemic-treaty/">said</a> in Harvard International Review in Fall 2021, “a new pandemic treaty should remain within the confines of the WHO without creating new multilateral organizations.”
How should any changes to WHO’s powers be decided upon? For now, we have more questions than answers. 
In medicine, every decision between a physician and patient is made following a thoughtful analysis of all the risks, benefits, and alternatives, through a process known as informed consent. Without being informed, how could we offer consent to a new pandemic treaty or any IHR amendments? While in theory, having an all-powerful pandemic prevention and detection organization sounds like a wonderful benefit, but is it too good to be true? Is it even feasible? And what are the risks and costs of doing this?
We must also take into account any freedoms that could be surrendered to an unelected body with limited accountability to achieve this. Moreover we must also consider, if it is truly possible to “prevent” the next pandemic if we couldn’t effectively manage the pandemic that we faced for over two years. Is there a strong body of evidence-based pandemic prevention literature that would support the roll-out of an effective prevention system that doesn’t cause more harm than good? Would this involve restrictions on gathering, on travel, or mask mandates? Would it formalize the WHO’s moral authority to impose lockdowns or endorse the decisions by member nations to impose their own lockdowns, like we have been seeing in China, at the first sight of any new pathogen that might ignite the next pandemic? We have seen how those lockdowns turned out. These questions all must be answered before we can even begin to craft new global policies which could lead to the effective imprisonment of millions of people at home for indefinite periods of time.
With respect to the IHR amendments proposed by the U.S. and supported by many other nations, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/Fact-Check-WHO-National-Sovereignty-038069150355">WHO apologists like Dr. Lawrence Gostin argue</a> that they would result in unenforceable mandates that serve more like recommendations. Even if that is true, do we want to put ourselves in a position to have to face strong recommendations that may not be necessary? And what if the costs outweigh any potential benefits? 
We have seen how seriously organizations, from local school boards to the CDC, take WHO’s recommendations and hide behind them while imposing their own unpopular and sometimes even harmful mandates to justify their decisions. We should not agree on any recommendations, binding or otherwise, that are not fully based in clinical evidence, are not applicable globally, or which fail the cost/benefit analysis. 
We must, therefore, consider the alternatives to creating yet another global layer of bureaucracy that could require nations to give up some degree of “sovereignty” for the greater good. Rather than remain  solely focused on preventing or detecting another pandemic, wouldn’t the WHO’s resources be better spent on good global surveillance of emerging pathogens? These efforts could be coupled with programs that reduce the risk factors for morbidity and mortality which we learned about from the current pandemic, such as respiratory disease and diabetes. Wouldn’t keeping the world’s population healthier produce benefits far beyond the elusive goal of preventing the next pandemic? 
According to the WHO, <a href="https://apps.who.int/gb/inb/pdf_files/inb1/A_INB1_10-en.pdf">in a recent round of public comments</a> on the pandemic treaty, “several speakers stressed that the potential international instrument should include a focus on strengthening universal health coverage to ensure resilient health systems during a pandemic. Having the ability to maintain essential health services during a pandemic, including mental and social health care, was seen as a key substantive element of any pandemic instrument.&#8221;
The world can absolutely not afford to rush into this. For something so significant, so impactful, and so potentially costly, we must not make any final decisions or enact any new treaties until we thoroughly understand the issues. That should start with a thoughtful, independent review of all the lessons we have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by an honest admission of mistakes that were made during the COVID-19 response, and a fact-based analysis of all the aforementioned questions – one that doesn’t immediately assume that pandemic prevention takes priority over all other aspects of human society.
And if we must err, we must err on the side of freedom of choice and independence for nations and individuals. While we face pandemics together, a “one size fits all” approach will never work across the diverse range of medical, social, economic, and cultural values and needs, across nations or even within individual nations and municipalities. The ball is in the WHO’s court to demonstrate a sincere commitment to the liberal values of free speech and basic human rights. 
Houman David Hemmati, M.D., Ph.D. is a board-certified ophthalmologist and biomedical research scientist in Santa Monica, California. You can follow him on Twitter: @houmanhemmati

Readers Pass – Hemmati – Why Does the World Health Organization Have So Much Power_16x9 (1)

How The WHO Is Using A COVID-19 Pandemic Treaty To Create A New ‘Global Health Security Architecture’

Readers Pass

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre appeared to cut off COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha on Thursday when he was asked by a reporter if all schools must be open this fall.
&#8220;Doctor, do you believe all schools will and must be open this coming fall?&#8221; a reporter asked.
Jha mumbled a few words before Jean-Pierre interjected, &#8220;You have to go. He has to go.&#8221;
&#8220;Sorry,&#8221; Jha said as he did not answer the question and quickly walked out of the room.
WATCH:
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WOW &#8211; a reporter asks if the White House COVID coordinator believes all schools &quot;will and must be open this fall&quot; 
And <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> prevents him from answering. <a href="https://t.co/lTtcBeh0by">pic.twitter.com/lTtcBeh0by</a>
&mdash; Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) <a href="https://twitter.com/mattdizwhitlock/status/1532445405820100609?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Fox News editor Cameron Cawthorne highlighted a clip from Jha late last year, before he was appointed by Democrat President Joe Biden, that showed Jha advocating for keeping schools open.
&#8220;What I&#8217;m hearing from school districts is there&#8217;s already questions about going remote,&#8221; he said during an interview on MSNBC in December. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s irresponsible at this point to do that.&#8221;
&#8220;We have all the tools to keep schools open and safe, vaccinations, testing, improvements in ventilation, tens of billions of dollars have gone to schools,&#8221; Jha continued. &#8220;And if I hear of a single school district that goes remote but keeps bars open, what that says to me is they don&#8217;t care about kids and they don&#8217;t care about COVID because bars spread COVID, schools generally don&#8217;t, not if you put in mitigation efforts, and I&#8217;m worried that city leaders are going to give up on kids and not do the right thing.&#8221;
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This is what the WH COVID-19 coordinator said back in December before he was appointed by Biden. No wonder WH didn’t want him to answer. <a href="https://t.co/7iqb71Hcrw">pic.twitter.com/7iqb71Hcrw</a>
&mdash; Cameron Cawthorne (@Cam_Cawthorne) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cam_Cawthorne/status/1532462490449240064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2022</a></blockquote>
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White House Holds Press Briefing

White House Cuts Off COVID-19 Response Coordinator When Asked If Schools Must Be Open In Fall

Karine Jean-Pierre

Public Schools

School Lockdowns

White House

Two summers ago, COVID-19 ended many Americans’ travel plans. Now, it’s inflation and prices at the pump.
According to a <a href="https://www.ahla.com/sites/default/files/mc_summertravel_onepager_05.25.22_0.pdf">survey</a> conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the American Hotel &amp; Lodging Association (AHLA), 57% of Americans are “likely to take a family vacation this summer.” However, 90% of Americans have considered “gas prices” or “inflation” when deciding whether to travel. In contrast, 78% listed “COVID-19 rates.”
“The pandemic has instilled in most people a greater appreciation for travel, and that’s reflected in the plans Americans are making to get out and about this summer,” AHLA CEO Chip Rogers said, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/31/gas-prices-and-inflation-overtake-covid-as-top-travel-worry-.html">CNBC</a>. “But just as Covid’s negative impact on travel is starting to wane, a new set of challenges is emerging in the form of historic inflation and record high gas prices.”
Indeed, Monday marked the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-how-much-gas-prices-have-risen-since-last-memorial-day">highest Memorial Day gas prices</a> in more than a decade, according to data from AAA and the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Prices at the pump hit $4.62 per gallon on Memorial Day 2022 — 53% higher than the $3.03 per gallon on Memorial Day 2021 and 136% higher than the $1.96 per gallon on Memorial Day 2020.
Even before COVID-19 and lockdown policies suppressed driving demand at this time two years ago, gas prices were roughly $2.85 on Memorial Day 2019 — meaning that today’s prices are 62% higher than equivalent pre-pandemic levels.
Likewise, inflation is <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/273418/unadjusted-monthly-inflation-rate-in-the-us/">markedly higher</a> than past rates as Americans head into the summer of 2022. Inflation, as measured by percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), was 4.2% in April 2021 — already higher than the 2% rate typically targeted by the Federal Reserve. In April 2022, inflation was 8.3% — a level that had not been seen in 40 years.
Other surveys likewise indicate that Americans are wary of high living expenses as they plan for the summer.
A poll from Echelon Insights <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/summer-canceled-inflation-kills-vacations-summer-camp-for-kids-poll-finds">found</a> that 75% of parents are “extremely” or “very” worried about the “rising cost of everyday purchases like food or gas.” When asked if their households have “changed or canceled plans for a family trip” because of inflation, 51% answered positively — and 41% said they “changed or canceled activities for my children like camp or extracurricular activities.”
Indeed, the most recent Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCEPI) report from the <a href="https://www.bea.gov/news/2022/personal-income-and-outlays-april-2022">Bureau of Economic Analysis</a> showed that the metric rose 4.9% year-over-year in April. Because inflation is still outpacing gains in income, Americans appear to be <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americans-draw-from-their-savings-to-fuel-summer-costs-new-inflation-report-says">reaching into savings</a> to cover their expenses. In April, households only saved 4.4% of their after-tax income — the lowest level seen since 2008.
Another <a href="https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/gdp1q22_2nd.pdf">Bureau of Economic Analysis</a> report released last week shows that the United States economy shrank at a 1.5% annual rate during the first quarter of 2022. The dismal results — which represented the most severe drop since Gross Domestic Product (GDP) plummeted by 31.2% in the second quarter of 2020 — were worse than the 1.3% Dow Jones estimate and a write-down from the originally reported 1.4%, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/26/first-quarter-gdp-declined-1point5percent-worse-than-thought-jobless-claims-edge-lower.html">CNBC</a>.
The United States economy had been <a href="https://www.bea.gov/news/2022/gross-domestic-product-fourth-quarter-and-year-2021-advance-estimate">rebounding</a> from COVID-19 and the lockdown-induced recession — expanding at a strong 5.7% in 2021 after contracting 3.4% in 2020. However, the economy has been plagued by various economic phenomena — including <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/consumers-disliked-2021s-economy-more-than-2020s">persistent inflation</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-slammed-for-remarks-on-enormously-high-gas-prices-theyre-saying-the-quiet-part-out-loud-now">high gas prices</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inflation-worries-remain-near-record-highs-boding-poorly-for-economy">low consumer confidence</a>, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/economist-warns-that-world-is-in-early-stages-of-very-significant-recession">Russian invasion of Ukraine</a>.

Family summer trip driving by suv car enjoying the road in the Catalan Pyrenees with hands on the road breeze.

Two Summers Ago, Americans Feared COVID-19 Would Ruin Their Vacations. Now, They Fear The Economy.

Gas Prices, Inflation Replace COVID As America’s Biggest Summer Travel Woe

Economy

Gas Prices

Inflation

Vacation

California Gavin Newsom announced Saturday afternoon that he has been diagnosed with COVID-19 — just a day after meeting with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to discuss a partnership to combat climate change.
On Saturday, Newsom&#8217;s office issued a statement saying, &#8220;This morning, the Governor tested positive for COVID-19 after exhibiting mild symptoms. The Governor will continue to work remotely.&#8221; Critics were quick to remark on the irony that the infection came right after meeting with Ardern in San Francisco on Friday. Under Ardern, New Zealand had strict COVID-19 measures, while California had some of the toughest guidelines in the United States under Newsom.
To that extent, Richard Grenell, former National Security Advisor to President Trump, tweeted Saturday evening, &#8220;The King and Queen of lockdowns,&#8221; in reaction to the news about Newsom.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The King and Queen of lockdowns. <a href="https://t.co/95PL52oT8K">https://t.co/95PL52oT8K</a>
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1530711714102013952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 29, 2022</a></blockquote>
Ardern had been strict with COVID-19 rules since early on in the pandemic, and continued those measures for quite some time. For example, in August 2021, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/17/new-zealands-jacinda-ardern-locks-down-nation-over-single-covid-case.html">reported</a>, &#8220;All of New Zealand will be in lockdown for three days from Wednesday while Auckland and Coromandel, a coastal town that the infected person had also spent time in, will be in lockdown for seven days.&#8221;
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That was the first case in six months on the island at the time, but Ardern insisted on moving swiftly to stop the spread of the virus.
“The best thing we can do to get out of this as quickly as we can is to go hard,” Ardern <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/17/new-zealands-jacinda-ardern-locks-down-nation-over-single-covid-case.html">said</a> at the time. “We have made the decision on the basis that it is better to start high and go down levels rather than to go low, not contain the virus and see it move quickly.&#8221;
In California, evidence indicates that Newsom&#8217;s state-imposed health precautions wreaked havoc on small businesses.
In May 2021, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-third-of-california-restaurants-close-permanently-due-to-lockdowns">reported</a>, that California&#8217;s &#8220;lockdowns have left the food industry battered and bruised in the Golden State. Prior to the pandemic, up to 76,000 eating and drinking establishments employed up to 1.8 million people. Those numbers dropped precipitously as the lockdowns continued throughout 2020 and into 2021. Though the state has eased restrictions over the past few weeks, about two-third of the industry’s employees lost their jobs at least temporarily and employment remains a quarter below what had existed prior to the pandemic.&#8221;
Newsom&#8217;s policies were so unpopular that his political opponents were able to force a recall election of the governor.
He survived that election, but even The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/19/business/newsom-coronavirus-california.html">recognized</a> that Newsom&#8217;s unpopularity stemmed in part from his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
&#8220;California was one of the earliest states to go into lockdown last spring, and it is now emerging from a second lockdown, which started in December,&#8221; the Times <a class="css-yywogo" title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/07/us/california-covid-restrictions.html">wrote in February 2021</a>.&#8221;That stop-start-stop has created a groundswell of anger toward Mr. Newsom, a Democrat in the third year of his first term, that is increasingly fueling a movement to recall him from office in one of the bluest of blue states.&#8221;
Newsom&#8217;s office stated on Saturday that the governor will be following the state&#8217;s &#8220;SMARTER Plan, which focuses on testing and treatment, the Governor will test prior to leaving isolation. The Governor has also received a prescription for Paxlovid, the antiviral that has been proven effective against COVID-19, and will begin his 5-day regimen immediately.&#8221;
&#8220;Governor Newsom is vaccinated and has received two booster shots, including as recently as May 18,&#8221; the office added.
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Untitled design (60)

‘The King And Queen Of Lockdowns’: Gavin Newsom Diagnosed With COVID-19 Day After Meeting With New Zealand Prime Minister

Gavin Newsom Diagnosed With COVID-19 Day After Meeting With New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

Gavin Newsom

Lockdowns

New Zealand

New York Times White House correspondent Michael Shear asked whether President Joe Biden might move to &#8220;claw back&#8221; a pandemic-related business loan obtained by gun manufacturer Daniel Defense.
Shear claimed that the 18-year-old shooter who barricaded himself inside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas — killing 19 students and two adults before law enforcement officers killed him — had used a firearm made by Daniel Defense. He then asked whether the White House would consider pulling back the $3 million PPP loan in light of the fact that their product had been used to perpetrate a mass shooting.
WATCH:
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.<a href="https://twitter.com/shearm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@shearm</a> asks whether the White House plans to &quot;claw back&quot; the PPP loan obtained (legally) by the company that made the firearm used by Uvalde shooter.<a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@presssec</a> asks for the name of the company. <a href="https://t.co/gBm6ThIfBb">pic.twitter.com/gBm6ThIfBb</a>
&mdash; Virginia Kruta (@VAKruta) <a href="https://twitter.com/VAKruta/status/1529929289231220739?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2022</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;First, apparently the company that sold the shooter his rifles received a $3 million PPP loan under the last administration,&#8221; Shear began. &#8220;Do you know if there&#8217;s any effort by this administration to claw that money back?&#8221;
&#8220;So this is the first I&#8217;m hearing about this, so I would have to go back to the team and look into it,&#8221; Jean-Pierre replied. &#8220;Do you know the name of the company?&#8221;
&#8220;The company is Daniel Defense, D-a-n-i-e-l Defense, apparently they received a $3.1 million PPP loan right at the beginning,&#8221; Shear continued. &#8220;My colleagues have been writing about it apparently today, but if &#8230; assuming that is confirmed, would the president do you think support the idea of trying to claw that money back?&#8221;
&#8220;I — honestly, Michael, I need to check with the team and make sure that is actually factual, but I need to check with the team,&#8221; Jean-Pierre said again.
Daniel Defense, located in Savannah, Georgia, was founded in 2001 and is one of the largest private gun manufacturers in the United States — thanks to millions in government contracts for weapons components that are used by the U.S. military.
Since the Uvalde shooter bragged about <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/uvalde-gun-daniel-defense-pulls-out-nra-event-houston">purchasing his firearm from Daniel Defense</a>, the company has faced a barrage of attacks on social media — many critical of a photo posted by the company showing a young boy holding a rifle across his lap. &#8220;Train up a child in the way he should go,&#8221; the caption reads. &#8220;And when he is old, he will not depart from it.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The cowards <a href="https://twitter.com/DanielDefense?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DanielDefense</a>, who allegedly sold one of the weapons used to murder children in Texas yesterday, deleted this tweet and locked their account some time this morning.
But the internet is forever. <a href="https://t.co/c5nh6wtWcj">pic.twitter.com/c5nh6wtWcj</a>
&mdash; Gabe Rosenberg (@Gaber205) <a href="https://twitter.com/Gaber205/status/1529482499897929728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 25, 2022</a></blockquote>
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In the days since the shooting, Daniel Defense has made its official Twitter account private and the company has <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2022/05/25/guns-used-uvalde-shooting-prompt-outcry-could-lead-lawsuits/9929998002/">reportedly been removed</a> from the list of vendors scheduled to appear at Friday&#8217;s scheduled annual meeting of the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Steve Reed, the company&#8217;s vice president of marketing, issued a statement on the tragedy. &#8220;We are deeply saddened by the tragic events in Texas this week. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and community devastated by this evil act,&#8221; he said, adding that the company would cooperate with federal, state, and local law enforcement.

Media Briefing Held By Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre At The White House

NYT Reporter Asks If White House Will ‘Claw Back’ COVID Relief Loan From Gun Manufacturer After Uvalde Shooting

firearms

New York Times

Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

School Shooting

Uvalde

The United States shrank at a 1.5% annual rate during the first quarter of 2022, according to a Thursday report from the <a href="https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/gdp1q22_2nd.pdf">Bureau of Economic Analysis</a>.
The dismal results — which represented the most severe drop since Gross Domestic Product (GDP) plummeted by 31.2% in the second quarter of 2020 — were worse than the 1.3% Dow Jones estimate and a write-down from the originally reported 1.4%, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/26/first-quarter-gdp-declined-1point5percent-worse-than-thought-jobless-claims-edge-lower.html">CNBC</a>.
Among the reasons for the decline in economic activity were a slowdown in private inventory investment, a larger imbalance between exports and imports, and a decline in defense spending. Though consumer spending rose by 3.1%, the metric was outweighed by surging inflation.
“Business inventories have been trending down even as the price of those inventories has been rising,” Heritage Foundation research fellow EJ Antoni told The Daily Wire. “Now, because prices are so high and many businesses are hesitant to pass the full cost increase onto consumers, many businesses can’t afford to replace inventories, leading to the drawdown.”
The United States economy had been <a href="https://www.bea.gov/news/2022/gross-domestic-product-fourth-quarter-and-year-2021-advance-estimate">recovering</a> from COVID-19 and the lockdown-induced recession — growing at a robust 5.7% in 2021 after contracting 3.4% in 2020. However, the economy has been troubled by various economic calamities — including <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/consumers-disliked-2021s-economy-more-than-2020s">persistent inflation</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-slammed-for-remarks-on-enormously-high-gas-prices-theyre-saying-the-quiet-part-out-loud-now">high gas prices</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inflation-worries-remain-near-record-highs-boding-poorly-for-economy">low consumer confidence</a>, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/economist-warns-that-world-is-in-early-stages-of-very-significant-recession">Russian invasion of Ukraine</a>.
The stock market has seen a large selloff since the end of 2021 due to various economic issues; while the Dow Jones has fallen from over $36,000 at the end of 2021 to under $33,000 as of Thursday afternoon, the Nasdaq — a technology-heavy stock index — saw its <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tech-stocks-see-worst-losing-streak-since-dot-com-bubble">worst decline</a> since the dot-com selloff in 2001.
Antoni told The Daily Wire that there is &#8220;very little good news&#8221; moving into the second quarter of 2022 and beyond.
“There is a large amount of wholesale inflation that will be passed on to consumers in the coming months and almost all other data are pointing in the wrong direction,” he described. “There is a long way to go before inflation is under control, so the second quarter will very likely still see the same problems that plagued the first three months of the year.”
“Consumers have depleted all of the savings from the pandemic, real wages have declined, and credit card debt is exploding — all in an environment of rising interest rates,” he continued. “People cannot afford to maintain their standard of living and are going into debt just as borrowing costs are set to explode. This is a recipe for disaster.”
Many business leaders are likewise warning of heightened recessionary risk.
Bridgewater Associates co-CIO Bob Prince, for example, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/economy-on-the-cusp-of-stagflation-seen-in-under-jimmy-carter-warns-asset-management-exec">said</a> the economy is “on the cusp of” stagflation during an interview at the World Economic Forum. The term “stagflation” refers to sluggish economic growth coupled with high inflation — and is especially characteristic of the economy of the late 1970s, in which an oil shock that occurred under the leadership of President Jimmy Carter induced a recession amid rising price levels.
“The markets are under-discounting the inflation picture,” Prince explained. “The sustainability, the self-reinforcing of the inflation is not discounted. The degree of tightening over time is not discounted.”
Pershing Square Capital Management CEO Bill Ackman said that there are two ways the United States can <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-hedge-fund-manager-sees-two-ways-out-of-soaring-inflation-and-neither-one-is-pretty">escape soaring inflation</a> — the Federal Reserve taking a hardline stance on rising price levels, or an economic collapse.
“The only way to stop today’s raging inflation is with aggressive monetary tightening or with a collapse in the economy,” Ackman argued. “There is no prospect for a material reduction in inflation unless the Fed aggressively raises rates, or the stock market crashes, catalyzing an economic collapse and demand destruction.”
At a press conference earlier this week, however, President Joe Biden denied that the United States is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-sounds-off-on-whether-he-thinks-another-recession-is-inevitable">bound for another recession</a>. In addition to emphasizing lower unemployment rates, he argued that his administration is doing what they can with respect to gas prices and other phenomena.
“The price of gas at the pump is something that I told you — you heard me say before — it would be a matter of great discussion at my kitchen table when I was a kid growing up. It’s affecting a lot of families,” Biden explained. “But we have released over two hundred and, I think, fifty-seven thousand — million barrels of oil, I should say. Us and the rest of the world we convinced to get involved. It’s helped, but it’s not been enough.”

Empty shelves

United States Economy SHRINKS In The First Part Of 2022

Economy Contracts In The First Part Of 2022, Worst Quarter Since Early 2020

Stock Market

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio introduced a bill on Wednesday to protect military academy cadets from punishment over declining the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Defending Freedoms of Conscience for Cadets and Midshipmen Act would keep cadets from being punished or refused commission over COVID-19 vaccine non-compliance.
“It is outrageous to punish young men and women who want nothing more than to serve their nation,” Rubio <a href="https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=FC62C7EE-E133-47FB-8A3D-B4E3CA07FCA9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “These are the types of ridiculous, unnecessarily punitive measures that discourage patriotic Americans from joining the military. The Academy should stop playing politics and focus on preparing cadets and midshipmen for their future service.”
Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, a co-sponsor of the bill, also expressed his frustration over the Biden administration&#8217;s punishment of military academy cadets over the vaccine.
“Joe Biden’s outrageous and plain mean-spirited vaccine tyranny knows no bounds – now punishing aspiring heroes who have earned the honor of joining the officer ranks,” Marshall said. “I’m thankful to Senator Rubio for leading this effort to protect these patriotic Americans.”
Fellow co-sponsor and Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith referred to the current punishments as government overreach.
“The decision to end promising military careers solely based on a COVID vaccine seems punitive and another example of clumsy government overreach,” Hyde-Smith said in the statement.
“The cadets and midshipmen at our service academies are among the brightest in the country, and they shouldn’t be dismissed so flippantly,&#8221; she added.
The act would specifically clarify that cadets and midshipmen cannot be denied graduation for not being vaccinated against COVID-19, and prevent cadets and midshipmen from being dismissed from their service academy as a result of refusing to be vaccinated.
In addition, the newly proposed law would keep any cadet who is not allowed to commission due to their COVID-19 vaccination status from being subject to repayment claims.
The act follows the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/air-force-cadets-to-receive-degree-no-commission-over-covid-19-vaccine-refusal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news</a> of three U.S. Air Force Academy cadets who refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine being informed that they will not receive a commission as military officers when they graduate, according to the academy.
Air Force Academy spokesman Dean Miller shared the information in a statement.
Miller <a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-united-states-government-and-politics-education-c8debc71373ab4b4390980b12072ef5a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the three cadets “will not be commissioned into the United States Air Force as long as they remain unvaccinated.”
A fourth cadet was previously listed among those excluded, but has since decided to be vaccinated in order to become an officer.
The Air Force is the only military academy currently refusing to commission cadets due to COVID-19 non-compliance, according to the Associated Press.
Colorado Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn, whose district includes the Air Force Academy, expressed his concern.
“I was extremely disappointed to hear that the United States Air Force Academy is planning to deny these four cadets the opportunity to graduate and serve our nation because of their request to uphold their tightly held religious beliefs,” Lamborn said in a <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/may/18/air-force-academy-cadets-face-expulsion-repayment-/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.
“America was founded on the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which encompasses protecting the religious rights of the individual. That includes those who put on the uniform and volunteer to serve our nation. It is imperative that our military leaders uphold the constitutional rights of these cadets,” he added.

Air Force Academy graduation

Sen. Marco Rubio Introduces Bill To End Punishment Of Military Academy Members Over COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal

Florida

Marco Rubio

Military

After two-and-a-half years of COVID-19, we&#8217;re all moving on. Sure, the virus is still there, albeit generally less dangerous with the Omicron variant, but many Americans no longer don masks and regular life has mostly returned.
The whole &#8220;moving on&#8221; thing has one serious effect on vaccine makers.
&#8220;It&#8217;s sad to say, I&#8217;m in the process of throwing 30 million doses into the garbage because nobody wants them,&#8221; Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said this week. &#8220;We have a big demand problem.&#8221;
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Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna:
&quot;it&#39;s sad to say, I&#39;m in the process of throwing 30 million doses in the garbage because nobody wants them. We have a big demand problem.&quot;
Notes that China doesn&#39;t want any MRNA products and how there&#39;s 7 billion doses.<a href="https://t.co/xfKZbVT8RJ">https://t.co/xfKZbVT8RJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/WVboChDma7">pic.twitter.com/WVboChDma7</a>
&mdash; Efron Monsanto 🇨🇦🚜🚛 (@realmonsanto) <a href="https://twitter.com/realmonsanto/status/1528887133263450112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Speaking to an audience at the World Economic Forum, Bancel also said efforts to contact various governments have failed.
&#8220;We right now have governments &#8211; we tried to contact &#8230; through the embassies in Washington. Every country, and nobody wants to take them,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;The issue in many countries is that people don&#8217;t want vaccines,&#8221; he added.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Business talks from Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna.." width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K6N22wFKWFI?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Bancel&#8217;s announcement comes just after the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a stern warning: the COVID-19 pandemic is &#8220;most certainly not over,&#8221; warned WHO head Tedros Ghebreyesus.
Although deaths from a current variant of SARS-CoV-2 , known as Omicron, have dropped precipitously, the WHO head said &#8220;we lower our guard at our peril,&#8221; <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/05/1118752">according</a> to the United Nations.
“So, is COVID-19 over? No, it’s most certainly not over. I know that’s not the message you want to hear, and it’s definitely not the message I want to deliver,” he said.
Ghebreyesus on Sunday told officials gathered in Geneva for the opening of the World Health Assembly&#8217;s annual meeting that declining testing and sequencing means &#8220;we are blinding ourselves to the evolution of the virus.&#8221; In addition, he said that while billions are vaccinated against the virus, nearly one billion people in lower-income countries still are not.
While some 60% of the world&#8217;s population is vaccinated, he said, &#8220;it&#8217;s not over anywhere until it&#8217;s over everywhere.&#8221;
Ghebreyesus mentioned that &#8220;reported cases are increasing in almost 70 countries in all regions,&#8221; the U.N. reported.
He noted that the virus is spreading rapidly in Africa, where the vaccination rate is the lowest worldwide. And he said while there appears to be ample supply of the vaccine, there is &#8220;insufficient political commitment to roll out vaccines&#8221; in some countries according to the U.N., while there remain gaps in &#8220;operational or financial capacity&#8221; in other nations.
&#8220;In all, we see vaccine hesitancy driven by misinformation and disinformation,&#8221; Ghebreyesus said. “The pandemic will not magically disappear. But we can end it. We have the knowledge. We have the tools. Science has given us the upper hand,&#8221; he said, calling on countries to work together to reach 70% of vaccination coverage.
Ghebreyesus also said the virus is staying ahead of vaccines. “This virus has surprised us at every turn – a storm that has torn through communities again and again, and we still can’t predict its path, or its intensity,” he said.
&#8220;The WHO chief also warned that increasing transmission means more deaths and more risk of a new variant emerging, and the current decline of testing and sequencing means &#8216;we are blinding ourselves to the evolution of the virus,'&#8221; the UN said in its statement.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

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